Molex Offers Internal Mobile TV Standard Antenna for CMMB Enabled Devices

“Previous attempts to design internal antennas for highly compact CMMB enabled mobile devices have yielded narrow antenna bandwidth and poor radiation efficiency. Off-the-shelf CMMB chips do not necessarily provide mobile makers with access to control signals, while custom-designed CMMB chips are costly to implement. The need for slim, highly compact mobile devices precludes the use of retractable, whip-like antennas, which bring durability concerns,” explains Welson Tan, research and development manager, Molex. “The Mobile TV Standard Antenna overcomes a host of engineering and design challenges, and offers significant cost and time-to-market benefits, while meeting the needs of fashion-conscious consumers.”

The new Molex internal Mobile TV Standard Antenna supports reception in the 470-800MHz UHF band and enables CMMB-based TV without the need for active circuitry or frequency tuning. Fabricated using Laser Direct Structuring (LDS) technology, the Mobile TV Standard Antenna has a simple 50-ohm interface and measures 50.0 by 5.0 by 6.0mm (1.97 by 0.20 by 0.24“).

A notable feature is the hollowing-out of the plastic material of the antenna to reduce radiation loss. The antenna has housing slots that help improve radiation efficiency and vertical ribs that reduce warpage during moulding. The hooks at the sides of the antenna snap into a matching set of apertures at the inner ends of the device covers of smartphones, tablet PCs, notebooks, netbooks, GPS devices with CMMB functionality or other CMMB-enabled handheld devices.

The Molex Mobile TV Standard Antenna requires a simple matching network and minimal ground clearance from the edge of the PCB for optimal RF performance. The sleek antenna design helps minimise the layout area of the PCB and reduces both BOM costs and design cycle-time, optimizing time-to-market in the ultra-competitive consumer space. The antenna adheres to industry guidelines for environmental protection and is RoHS-compliant and halogen-free.

Based on diverse manufacturing and RF technologies, Molex standard and custom antenna assemblies offer high performance and ease of integration for demanding wireless applications spanning the industrial, consumer, medical and automotive markets.